Polly Baca (born February 13, 1941) is an American politician who served as Chair of the Democratic Caucus of the Colorado House of Representatives (1976–79), being the first woman to hold that office and the first Hispanic woman elected to the Colorado State Senate and in the House and Senate of a state Legislature. She also was the first to co-chair a National Democratic Convention. She was a member of the Colorado State Legislature for 12 years and was elected to the Colorado Senate in 1978. She was also the founder and director of the Latin American Research and Service Agency (LARASA), as well as its president and CEO. She founded the LARASA nonprofit organization in 1964 "to lead and influence change to improve the quality of life for Latinos through advocacy, capacity building, and education." In addition, she's currently the president and CEO of "Baca Barragan & Perez Associates", "a consulting firm specializing in political campaigns, multicultural leadership development, diversity training, motivational presentations, policy analysis and development, and government relations." and still remains active in her community working on behalf of local and national issues important to low income Americans. She also continues to help with issues on civil rights, political campaigns and consulting with companies and organizations on developing multicultural relations programs. Early years Polly Baca-Barragán was born in Weld County, Colorado, in 1941. She is the daughter of José Manuel Baca and Leda Sierra Baca, descendants of the Spanish and Mexican colonists of New Mexico and Colorado, who arrived there in the 1600s. Her parents were farm workers, but later her father worked for an ice storage company, while her mother worked in fishhook and potato chip factories. In addition, her father was the first head of their church's credit union, which helped the parishioners with small loans. Polly has two sisters: Fernie, now a retired Dean from the University of Colorado, and Bettie Baca, a consultant in Washington, DC. Her great-grandfather helped found Trinidad, Colorado. When she was three years old, the Baca family moved to Greeley, Colorado, a community that allowed segregated churches, theaters, and business establishments. Mexicans and Mexican Americans were separated from the mainstream community. At three years of age, Baca experienced segregation in church that contribute to her future political ideology. She graduated from Colorado State University, with a Bachelor of Arts in political science. During her freshman year at the University,